Film workers call for changes after going unpaid by independent productions

The head of a union that represents southern Alberta film workers is calling for changes in the industry after a western starring Kiefer and Donald Sutherland wrapped up production owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to crew members and suppliers, making it the second time in less than a year that workers have been left unpaid by an independent production in Alberta.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 212 president Damian Petti says the producers of the film Forsaken, which was shot at the CL Ranch in Springbank during the summer, owe wages to roughly 100 people, including members of IATSE 212, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and the Directors Guild of Canada. Petti says $600,000 is owed in wages and benefits after missing payroll for a few weeks. More than $210,000 is owed to suppliers, he says.

This is less than one year after workers were left without payment after the funding for the Hollywood film Race to Save Nome collapsed during pre-production last November. Producers of that film owe more than $800,000 in wages to workers who had built sets in Morley.

“We need to make some changes,” says Petti. “We could have better ways of communicating risk to the industry. We could tighten up incentives — what projects get approved. Maybe you need to close your financing before you get approved. All of these types of things. If there was a willingness to tighten it up a little, it would be easy. We’d be like every other jurisdiction. I’m of the opinion that this occurs with higher frequency in Alberta. We can’t just say this is a freak thing that happened.”

“We’ve had these problems over the years. I think there’s just been a bit more lately.”

It may seem like déjà vu for many workers. In 2008, the Hallmark TV movie When Calls the Heart had to shut down production in Alberta when funding dried up during the economic collapse in the U.S.

While most of the salaries of the crew and actors were eventually paid, IATSE members did not get health and retirement benefits, Petti said. Also, despite the film shutting down five years ago, some suppliers have still not received compensation. That project eventually was finished with different backers in Romania. It is now in production as a television series in Vancouver with different production companies. Alberta suppliers are still owed $1.2-million, said Edmonton-based Doug Steeden, who was production manager for the Alberta shoot. He said suppliers will eventually be paid a portion — 40 to 50 per cent — of what they are owed. He admitted it has been a long “tedious process.”

For Forsaken, the affected unions have lodged unfair labour practice complaints to the Alberta Labour Relations Board. The single-purpose corporations that were set up specifically for the film were named in the complaints, as were Regina-based Minds Eye Entertainment, Edmonton’s Panacea Entertainment and Toronto’s Rollercoaster Entertainment Inc. Vortex Words and Pictures. Producers Kevin Dewalt of Minds Eye and Josh Miller of Panacea Entertainment, respectively, did not return Herald phone calls. Kiefer Sutherland’s publicist did not return calls or emails from the Herald.

When reached in Toronto, Bill Marks of Roller-coaster Inc. said he was brought onto the film as a “creative” producer and is not an officer of the corporations set up to make the film. He said he is also owed money for his work.

“It’s unfortunate, but I believe the producers acknowledge that wages are owed and we look forward to everyone being paid in full,” said Marks.

Regardless, he said he hopes to see his name removed from the complaints since he was brought in after investors were supposedly secured.

“I think a lot of people were given assurances from outside investors that turned out to be false,” says Marks. He said he was asked to come out to Alberta to act in “quality control” for the film.

“If I had known then what I know now, I would have recommended we never make the film,” he says.

Nevertheless, he said the “clearest path” for people to get their money back is for the film to be completed and sold.

While that may be true, some insiders are saying there should be more transparency to determine if funding is in place before cameras start to roll.

John Scott, a veteran wrangler for films, did not work on Forsaken. But he is still owed money for set decorations he provided for When Calls the Heart. He was also set to be a consultant on Race to Save Nome, although refused to sign on until he was paid.

“The government is going to have to put something in place somehow to find out if they have their funding in place,” Scott says. “It’s been a kind of trust system and so far it just hasn’t worked. We’ve been burned three or four times over the years. There should be proof that they have some operating capital to begin with. Some of these guys just open their offices and away they roll.”

Scott says he fears that vendors and suppliers may not want to have anything to do with the industry in the future if this keeps happening.

One supplier, who asked to remain anonymous, claims to be owed a total of $100,000 for work on Forsaken and When Calls the Heart.

“It’s almost like a banquet buffet that doesn’t have enough food for people at the end of the line,” says the supplier, adding that the company may not work with independent producers again in this province unless changes are made.

But how exactly changes can be made is not clear-cut. As it stands, neither Race to Save Nome nor Forsaken have received any money from the province. Unlike with other jurisdictions, the Alberta Media Fund is a grant rather than a tax-based incentive. Productions can get a rebate of between 25 to 30 per cent of their total Alberta spend, depending on the involvement of local producers and local hires.

But even if a grant has been approved, a project must be completed before the money can be collected. Producers also have to provide a third-party audit to prove all their bills have been paid before any grant money is dispersed. On top of that, if a film has a budget of more than $1-million, producers have to show that they have secured at least 75 per cent of its funding before they can even apply.

But Petti said these fail-safes are not enough. He would like unions such as IATSE to have more access to the information around funding and require productions to “close their financing” before being eligible for government grants.

“I really have no way of knowing whether or not a project closed their financing,” Petti said. “If I could verify with some entity, be it Film Finances Canada, or even one of the funding agencies, including Alberta Film — if they can say yes or no if they’ve closed their financing, that would help me on the risk assessment.”

As it stands, Alberta risks losing good people to other jurisdictions unless changes are made, he says.

“The immediate thing that I’ve been seeing is that it contributes to a migration out of the jurisdiction for our most highly-skilled people,” Petti said.

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Film workers call for changes after going unpaid by independent productions

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